The Lamp and the Mirror

I've just made the initial posts to lamp_mirror!

Of course, this is all "first day of class" stuff, but it's in motion, and that's what counts.

I now have 1 week to convert my notes about Lesson One into a clear, concise, and meaningful LJ post.

If anyone is interested in taking part but haven't registered yet, you have one week to sign up by going to the User Info page of lamp_mirror and clicking the "Join This Community" link.
After that, I'm going to close the community for this session.

Yes or No

Via savagedaughter

You can only answer "yes" or "no" unless someone asks for more information.
I hate not being able to explain!

But oh well. . .

( Question Meme Behind Cut )

Yowza!

22 people have signed up for lamp_mirror!

Thanks to those of you who promoted the community in their own journals!

Yes or No - Gun

kateri_thinks wanted to know more about my "yes" to firing a gun.

It's not much of a story, really.

I'd never had any meaningful exposure to firearms, and was curious about them. I'd also been toying with the idea of purchasing one and learning to use it for home protection, but wanted to find out how it felt to actually handle one before I took such a big step.

My friend the Welshman was a former police officer, and he took me to a firing range twice, along with several handguns from his personal collection. However, his weapons were far too large for my hands, so we ended up renting a smaller one for me to use.

I liked it less than I expected to. The kick when firing was fairly powerful, and I found it a bit scary. I was all too aware of the deadly power that was there in my hands and not fully under control. I was also a bit freaked out by the fact that there were people all around me firing guns, capable of killing someone. A non-rational part of me found this more alarming than my conscious, rational mind could fully overcome.

In all, I was rather disappointed in myself for not doing better, either in the technique of firing or in the emotional aspect. And it wasn't something I cared enough about to put effort into getting the proper training to overcome.